On Second Thought...

Coach Josh McDaniels is a fucking genius.

He's so much of one that I had to drop that f-bomb, not only to prop up my weak writing, but to demonstrate just how serious I am. To leave it out would have been disrespectful. It would have been sacrilege, and Josh deserves better.

McDaniels is, without a doubt, the greatest football coach who has ever lived. No, I'm not being sarcastic. For those of you who read my previous blog, this may seem like a jest, but I assure you it's not.

Just hear me out.

Everything I've said previously about McDaniels was wrong. My opinions of him were ignorant and foolish, and I take every one of them back. McDaniels is far from the idiot I tried to portray him as. In fact, he's the Albert Einstein of NFL coaches. He's the Alpha and Omega of gridiron strategy. Josh McDaniels is a coaching god.

OK, maybe implying that McDaniels is the second coming of Vince Lombardi is a tad much. What can I say? I love hyperbole. That being said, I'm not really joking.

How else could you describe the man who single handedly, with but one ingenious move, did the impossible? Josh McDaniels, by simply hinting that he preferred Cassel over Cutler, has exorcised the ghost of John Elway from the city of Denver forever.

Let that sink in there for a minute, bronco lovers, cause it's true. That's exactly what he did.

In one brilliant move, Josh found a way to allow Broncos fans to love again without feeling ashamed. By letting go of Cutler, Josh has taught us how to let go of John.

You see, Josh understood exactly what he was getting into when he accepted the Broncos head coaching position. He knew what he was up against. Not only was he facing the near impossible task of building a championship team in Denver, but he was going to have to do it just as Shannahan had tried to for the last ten years. Under the menacing shadow of the greatest quarterback who ever lived.

Bubby Bister, Brian Griese, Gus Frerotte, Steve Beuerlein, Jarious Jackson, Danny Kanell, and Jake Plummer-- they were all starting quarterbacks for the Denver Broncos after the departure of Elway, and they never stood a chance. No matter what they did, no matter how well they played, it was never going to be good enough. Never. Because they weren't John Elway.

As talented as Cutler is, he's no Elway either, and he knows it. In Chicago, he need only live up to his potential to be a success. In Denver, he would have had to out class the Duke, and that was always a losing proposition.

McDaniels though has changed all that. Elway's ghost is gone, free to roam the hall of fame heavens, and it's not coming back. Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, or any other future Denver quarter back need not attempt to out duel #7. Elway is no longer the standard. Now, it's Cutler.

Do you see now the supreme genius of McDaniel's move? By simply hinting that he might prefer Matt Cassel to Jay Cutler, McDaniels set into motion a series of events that would lead to the crybaby Cutler forsaking our mighty Broncos and demanding a trade, thus turning him into the villain this city needs. Cutler, that back stabbing Judas, is now hated as much as Elway was loved. He is the antagonist in a story of cowardice and deception, a story that now needs a hero. In wanting to see Cutler fail, Broncosnation is finally ready to do what they never thought possible, to let go of Elway and embrace another quarterback. A quarterback who needn't be greater than the greatest of all time, but simply better than the whiny-ass bitch who we just sent packing.

Masterful, isn't it? McDaniel's exorcism of Elway's ghost alone is a triumph of the ages, but the brilliance of his plan goes yet further. Ridding Denver of the great one's shadow, though a tremendous accomplishment, was not the only difficulty Josh would have to overcome. The 2008 Denver Broncos was a disaster, and when you inherit a team that became the first in history to blow a 3 game division lead with only 3 weeks to go in the season, there's no choice but to shred the roster to pieces and start anew.

Next to losing though, reconstruction is just about the worst scenario an NFL head coach can face. Fans don't have the patience for rebuilding, especially when it seemed as though their team was on the verge of greatness. Enter the traitor Cutler, whose immature pouting has made him the scapegoat, allowing McDaniels the excuse to build a team in his own image without fear of reproach. What choice does he have but to rebuild, thanks to Cutler?

Beautiful, isn't it? The genius is in its simplicity. Not only did McDaniels free us of Elway's ghost, not only did he set up Cutler as the fall guy for reconstruction, but in trading Cutler for two 1st round draft picks (giving the donks four 1st rd picks over the next two years), McDaniels can infuse the Broncos with new talent in half the time it would normally take. Reconstruction will be a breeze, so much so that it may not seem like the Broncos are rebuilding at all. If Josh is genius enough to do all this, who says he can't get us to the promise land as soon as next year?

That's right, true believers. You heard it here first. Broncos will win the next Super Bowl. If you plan to be in Vegas any time soon, you might want to throw down a bet. Go on, get paid.

Thank you, Josh. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. I am, thanks to you, forever a changed man. No more will I be a naysaying Broncos fan. No longer will I doubt. From this day forth, I will be steadfast in my belief that they will triumph. And should they not, there will always be next week, or next year.

It is only a matter of time before the Broncos are great again.